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Pushing deeper into streaming video, Facebook ( FB ) is expanding its live-video feature to users of Android devices, having launched the feature for Apple ( AAPL ) iPhone users in December. Facebook initially began allowing live video on Apple devices in the U.S. only but has since expanded to 30 countries. In a blog post Friday, Facebook said that it will roll out Live to Alphabet ( GOOGL ) Android users next week in the U.S., with more countries coming soon. The live-video feature lets mobile users share experiences in real time. On average, Facebook said, people watch a live video more than three times longer than other video. Facebook is increasingly expanding its video-sharing prowess. When Facebook reported fourth-quarter earnings on Jan. 27, it said that people watch more than 100 million hours of video daily on Facebook. More than 500 million of its 1.6 billion users watch video daily. The addition of live video streaming for Apple and now Android users on mobile devices will boost views. Video is an integral element of Facebook’s revenue growth. Analysts see Facebook benefiting from such revenue drivers as video ads, a larger share of digital and traditional ads, and increasing monetization of its Instagram video- and photo-sharing site, which also has video ads. This month, Facebook announced that it had doubled the length of video ads on Instagram to 60 seconds. Facebook derives more than 96% of total revenue from advertising, with video ads commanding higher prices than other ads. Citing high expectations of revenue growth from video ads and Instagram ads, Rosenblatt Securities on Tuesday reiterated its buy rating on the social networking leader. The Live feature is an extension of a live broadcast channel that Facebook began offering in August for celebrities to interact with fans. That offering came months after Meerkat and Twitter ’s ( TWTR ) Periscope, two video apps, were launched for general use. Facebook wants to make sure that users don’t switch to Twitter for big events or Q&As. Besides Twitter, Facebook competes with Alphabet, Microsoft ( MSFT ) and Apple for online advertising. Facebook stock was down a fraction in early-afternoon trading in the stock market today , as was Alphabet. Apple stock up a fraction and Twitter up 1.5%. Scalper1 News
Scalper1 News